1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a ball, and more particularly to a sports ball comprising a plurality of carcass panels attached on a ball cushion to form a roundness carcass of the sports ball in a stitch-less manner.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional sports ball, such as a conventional soccer ball, usually comprises a ball bladder, an inner lining, and a ball carcass. The ball carcass comprises a plurality of carcass panels attached on the ball bladder, wherein each of the carcass panels is usually stitched to adjacent carcass panels for forming a substantially round sports ball. Traditionally, much has been done in the development of the ball bladder and intermediate construction between the ball bladder and the ball carcass. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,520 to Li Chin Ou Chen discloses a ball pocket bladder for a stitching ball. It aims to enhance the immediate construction between the ball bladder and the outer carcass with a view to enhance the overall structural integrity of the entire stitching ball.
However, there are also several other disadvantages for the stitching structure of soccer balls. For example, the carcass panels, being stitched onto the ball bladder, involve expensive and time-consuming manufacturing procedures, yet the resulting sports ball may not have the optimal roundness. One particularly-pressing problem for conventional stitched sports ball is that the carcass panels cannot have too sharp a shape for it is difficult for sharp concerns to be adequately stitched with adjacent carcass panels.
As a result, sports balls having a stitch-less structure have been developed to overcome the many conventional deep-seated problems present in stitched sports ball. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,585 to Hiroshima et al. discloses a ball for a ball game comprising an elastic bladder, a reinforced layer, and a plurality of leather panels. More specifically, each of the leather panels is bonded onto the reinforced layer, wherein a peripheral edge portion of each leather panels is folded toward an inside. A thickness adjusting member is disposed in a void defined by the folded peripheral portions and bonded onto a back of each leather panel. Although this sports ball does not involve stitching on the leather panels, thereby substantially overcoming the disadvantages associated with stitching, it has several other disadvantages.
First, the Hiroshima's patent specifically discloses a bonding technique thereby each of the leather panels is inwardly folded at the corresponding peripheral portion to bond with the thickness adjusting member. Thus, the Hiroshima's patent discloses a state of art where each the leather panels has two portions, a main portion which is above the thickness adjusting member, and a peripheral portion which is bonded at side portions of the corresponding thickness adjusting member. Now, the problem with this construction is that while the main portion of each of the leather panels is elastically supported by the thickness adjusting member, the corresponding peripheral potion does not. As a result, the sports ball suffers from non-uniform cushion effect because of the bonding technique of the leather panels. When a user of that invention kicks on the main portion of the leather panel, he will enjoy substantial cushioning effect from the thickness adjusting member. However, when the user kicks on the peripheral portion of the leather panel, he will cease to enjoy the same amount of cushioning effect as if he kicks on the main portion.
Second, it is reasonably clear that in order to manufacture the ball stated in the Hiroshima's patent, one must take substantial amount of time for precise and effective attachment between the thickness adjusting member and the leather panels. In other words, the ball disclosed in the Hiroshima's patent requires expensive manufacturing cost. Moreover, since the manufacturing procedures are time-consuming, when the balls are needed in large quantity, such as when the inventors or their assignees or the licensors need to meet substantial market demand, there is little chance that they could produce the balls in large quantity in a relatively short period of time. This is extremely important because major soccer events, such as World Cup, are only held once in a few year.